Emergency Warnings and Communication

Communications and warnings are vital to the safety and well-being of individuals during an
emergency, since some emergencies, such as fire or severe weather emergencies, often have
enough lead time to provide for emergency warning communications. An effective warning and
communication system saves lives and protects property.

Emergency Communications Systems use is strictly limited to actual emergency notifications to
assure that people do not disregard messages.

Several communications systems are in place enabling internal and external emergency
communication. Warnings will be issued whenever an emergency situation exists that could
present a hazard to individuals present on KUMC property. Depending on the emergency, one
or more of the following emergency notification methods will be used.

Alertus
Alertus is an all-hazard alert system comprised of wall-mounted notification beacons to
disseminate vital information. The public is signaled with sirens and strobes, and a text display
informs what the emergency is and how to respond. The wall-mounted units located across
campus are controlled by the KUMC Police. Notifications can be addressed to localized areas
such as buildings or extend to the entire campus.

The Alertus units function as a way for the KU Medical Center police department to
communicate with the campus in real time during an emergency. These emergencies include:
• Severe weather that requires immediate action,
• Situations that affect public safety, or
• Environmental dangers to the campus.
If the Alertus system is activated, unless otherwise notified that a test is being conducted,
individuals are in a life-threatening situation and should follow directions in subsequent
communications. If there is an emergency, the following communications will take place:
• The sounding of each Alertus module’s alarm and flashing lights, along with a text message
on the unit's display board,
• A simultaneous emergency broadcast e-mail will be sent to each kumc.edu university e-mail
account known as the Emergent-e-mail system, and
• If the individual has opted in to the campus RAVE alert system, they will receive a text
message on their cell phone.
If there is an emergency, persons inside KUMC buildings should follow directions on the Alertus
unit, in the e-mail and on the text message. These messages will communicate the appropriate
action to take in response to the emergency.
Individuals are encouraged to take time to locate the nearest Alertus unit and the nearest wallmounted
Emergency Information and Evacuation Plan posting which will show the nearest exit
and shelter from that location.

RAVE
RAVE is a wireless warning system offered as an “opt-in” notification system. The system
provides emergency notification capability using the text messaging capability of cellular phones
or phone-enabled devices.

If individuals have not opted in to the RAVE text messaging alert system and they wish to do so,
go to: https://sa.ku.edu and log on to the KUMC Campus page using their KUMC ID and system
password. From there, they need to click on Emergency Contact Info, and follow the directions
to update their contact information.